Honoured: "When you make your first film, you’re sure it will be your last. And then you squeeze your eyes together and suddenly, forty years later, you’re at BAFTA getting an award like this" (Image: PA)

Nominated twice for the best director Oscar for his work on Midnight Express and Mississippi Burning in 1978 and 1998 respectively, Parker has also been responsible for bringing movie hits such as Fame, The Commitments, Evita and Angela’s Ashes to the big screen.

Sir Alan picks up his knighthood in 2002 (Image: PA)

John Willis, Chairman of the Academy, paid tribute to Sir Alan’s “immense contribution to the British film industry”.

He said: “Sir Alan Parker is a hugely distinctive filmmaker, and a man of uncompromising vision and personality.

“He has made an immense contribution to the British film industry, receiving a wide range of critical and public acclaim for his writing, producing and directing across almost 40 years of filmmaking.